Govt to check concrete walls after Osaka quake deaths

Sorrowful tragedy: A woman in tears after leaving flowers near the site where a concrete wall at an elementary school fell onto the street and killed a nine-year-old, in Takatsuki, Osaka. — AP

TOKYO: Japan’s government ordered an emergency inspection of cinder-block walls at schools nationwide, a day after an earthquake in Osaka killed four people, two of whom were crushed by falling walls.

The magnitude 6.1 earthquake that struck Osaka during Monday’s morning rush hour injured more than 370 people in the region, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The quake also damaged many buildings and disrupted traffic.